Knockdown crate



(No Mcde.)

J. A. H. ELLIS.

KNOGKDOWN CRATE. No. 296,737. Patented Apr. 1 5, 1884.

n.' uuiiimii for return shipment.

Unirnn S'rnrns Parenti. @einen JOEL A.. II. ELLIS, BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA.

KNooKDowN CRATE.

SPECIFICAV'IICN forming part of Letters Patent No, 296,737, dated April 15, 1884.

(No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Join. A. H. ELLIS, a citizen oi the United States, residing at Beaver Falls, in" the county of Beaver and State oi' Pennsylvania, Vhave invented a new and useful Improvement in Knockdown Crates, and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the drawings forming apart thereof.

Myimproved knockdown crates aredcsigned to be used for packing earthenware, china ware, glass, andl manufactures of that class. These goods are bulky, and the cost of packages to the ton is comparatively high, owing to their small value per cubic foot.

My invention is designed to reduce the relative cost of packages to the value of goods earried by construct-ing the crates in such a manner as to furnish areliable crate for the trans` portation of goods, and when the crates have arrived at their destination and are emptied they may be knocked down and the different sections thereof bound together in a contracted form of about onefth oi' their bulk, and thus shipped back to the factory for, further use. The average back freight on knockdown crates will not be more than one-fth of the cost of ordinary crates, so that a saving of eighty per cent. is thus secured.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective view of my improved 'open knockdown crate. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hoop oi' saine. Fig.

3 is a plan view of the staves of same. Fig. 4f-

is a side viewof Fig. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the heads of Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of hoops and heads. Fig. 7 is a perspee tive view oi' my closed knockdown crate; Fig. 8, a side view of heads and hoops when ready Fig. 9 is a plan view of staveswh en ready for return shipment. Fig. l0 is a View of the bolts and connecting-irons.

Figs. 11 and 12 are views of stares for closed crates, such as Fig. 7.

In the manufacture of th ese crates, the hoops A? are made of an inner and outer section, a a', respectively, and the two riveted together, with intervening blocks, to keep the inner and outer sections at proper distance 'from each other, as shown in Fig. 2.

The staves A for an open crate areinade of strips of wood, provided upon one sido with cleats A', said cleats being in length equal to the distance desired between the middle and one of the end hoops, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and the heads B are constructed of strips of 5 wood of suitable length, crossed at right angles and secured together by suitable bolts, as shown in Fig. 5. Saidheads are also provided upon the ends ofthe outside upper strips with boltholes b', through which pass the bolts which secure together the various parts of the crate. Said bolts are eight in number, four of which (marked d) are of about twice the length of the remaining four, (marked d.) Said bolts are connected, in the manner hereinafter described, by an open-sided link, j', and nuts f.

In describing the method employed in setting up, knocking down, and packing for returning the crates, I shall call the openings c c' between the inner and outer sections of the hoops inortisesff These mortises are made so as to permitthe staves to pass through them as far as the cleats A. Four of these mortises c are longer than the rest, in order to leave room for the bolts. y

To set up the knockdown crate, remove the bolts d dpfrom the bundles of staves and hoops, and pass the four long bolts through the holes bin one of the heads, and lay it down with the bolts standing upright. Place one of the hoops on the head, with the bolts passing through the vlong niortises c in the hoop. Set up two staves in long inortises opposite each 'oth-er, and pass a short bolt through the hole e near the top of each stave. Put another hoop on these staves, taking care that they pass through long mortises, and let the hoop rest on these two bolts. Put a stave in each alternate niortise by entering the end in the top hoop iirst, and slipping it up through and dropping down into the lnortise in the lower hoop, taking care to have the cleats on the staves on the lower end and inside the crate. Take out the short bolts in the two strives. Drop the hoop down to the middle oi' 95 IOO up one side of this hoop, and enter the staves on one side-only at first over one of the long bolts and connecting-irons. Fasten this side down by taking a short bolt and passing it down through the long mortise in the top hoop, where the staves are entered, and through the hole in the upper end of the connecting-iron,l and turn on the nut below. The balance of the staves can then be easily entered into the hoop, and the three remaining short bolts put in through the top hoop and connectingirons, as before. The crate is then ready for packing. I/Then packed, take out the short bolts, put on the head, and fasten by pntting the short bolts through the head,hoop, and connecting-irons, and screw them down iirmly. p

In packing the crates it is well to slightly overiill them, so that the contents Vmay be pressed `down by screwing down the bolts, thus preventing the contents from becoming loose and getting broken, as in hogsheads or casks, in handling and rolling about. To open the crates, take out the short bolts, remove the head and top hoop, take out each alternate stave, remove goods down to the middle hoop, lift it oil' and take out the remaining staves, andremove the balance of goods. The crates may then be packed for return shipment as follows: Pass two long bolts through the holes in the staves,reversing them so that the cleats will be opposite each other, as shown in the engraving. String the four connecting-irons on the two remaining long bolts. Pass the lfour short bolts through the holes in one head,

and lay it -,down with the bolts standing upright. Lay the hoops on the head, so the bolts will pass through the four long mortises in them.A Put the bundle of connecting-irons inside the hoops, and tie securely to the head. Put' on the remaining head and screw allthe nuts down tight, thusmaking the crate into two bundles, as shown in Figs.- 6 and 9.

I have provided the bolts in two pieces of different lengths, in order that the long bolts may be of proper length for clamping all of the staves in one pack, and the shortbolts oi' proper length for clamping the heads and hoops in one pack, as shown in Figs. 6 and 9.

It will be observed that the cleats A', Figs. 8, 4, 1 1, and 12, are so placed that the end of the stave may pass into the mortise of the hoop. By this arrangement the cleats occur between the middle and end hoops, and when the crate is screwed together they serve to hold the hoops firmly in position.

Vhen closed crates are desired, I make the staves of the form shown in Figs. 1l and l2, which, when put together, form a closed package, as shown in Fig. 7. y

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A hoop for barrels, casks, or crates, which consists of an inner section, a, and an outer section, a, said sections riveted together and provided with yintermediate blocks, Z1, having stave-openings between them, substantially as and for the purposes described.

V2. In knockdown crates, the staves A, provided with lateral cleats A', said cleats adapted to hold the hoops in their proper relative positions, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In knockdown crates, the combination,- with the heads, staves, and hoops, of the bolts el d, the connecting-iron f, and the nuts f', substantially as and for the purposes set'forth.

JOEL A. H. ELLIS.

Witnesses:

IW. RoHM, HARRY VAN A'Rsnarn. 

